(LEBANON, Ill., Feb 8) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team fell to No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne in a hard fought five set match, 3-2. The Bearcats are now 4-5 overall on the season and 1-1 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play.

It was a tough back-and-forth match as Purdue Fort Wayne claimed the first set 25-21, then McKendree took the second set 25-23. The Mastodons came out on the right side of set three, winning 25-20 but the Bearcats answered back with a 25-22 victory in set four to tie things up 2-2. Purdue Fort Wayne's home crowd gave them the extra motivation to pull through and claim set five, 15-7 and win the match 3-2.

McKendree's defense came to play today as they recorded nearly triple the amount of blocks as the Mastodons. The Bearcats had 13 total blocks whereas Purdue Fort Wayne only accumulated five in the five set match.  Freshman setter Ryan Serrano (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) led the way with seven total blocks, followed closely by freshman middle blocker Tommy McGrath (Paradise Valley, AZ/Brophy College Prep) who had five and sophomore middle blocker Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine) who tallied four total blocks. The back line was led by senior libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) who recorded 12 total digs. Junior opposite Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) followed with eight digs and Serrano was close behind with seven total digs.

Offensive efforts were led by Dimke who tallied eight kills in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Patrick Ross (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) and freshman outside hitter Brendon Dunn (Sherman Oaks, CA/Notre Dame) were next, each recording seven kills for the Bearcats. Dunn played a pivotal role of keeping the Bearcats alive with his off the bench performance in the fourth set.

McKendree returns home on Feb. 13 for the next MIVA match against Lindenwood at 7 p.m. in the Statham Sports Center.